Global DMS Blog

Valuation Review recently conducted a nationwide survey of appraisers, in which numerous questions were asked regarding the current state of the industry. One of their questions—“How would you rate the typical appraisal fee you are paid”—pertained directly to the ‘Customary and Reasonable’ fee clause that is outlined in the Dodd-Frank Act.

On average, the survey indicated that appraisers are generating higher fees than they were at this time last year. Valuation Review’s figures showed that 10.6% of respondents earned over $500 per assignment, 20.2% earned between $400 and $500, 50.2% earned between $300 and $400, 17.8% earned between $200 and $300, and only 1.1% earned $200 or below.

When looking at these same figures for 2013, 7.7% of appraisers said they earned over $500 per assignment, 13.9% earned between $400 and $500, 52.1% earned between $300 and $400, 22.8% earned between $200 and $300, and 3.4% earned $200 or below.

This shows a percentage jump of almost 10 points—from 73.7% in 2013 to 81% in 2014—of appraisers who earned at least $300 per assignment, making this the third straight year that appraisers are seeing higher fees overall.

However, only 17.4% of those surveyed said they’ve actually seen an increase in fees since Dodd-Frank’s ‘Customary and Reasonable’ fee clause was implemented. Many cited the lack of enforcement of this mandate as the reason behind the slow transition to higher fees, and believe the solution lies with lenders and appraisal management companies (AMC) transitioning to the cost-plus model – where the client pays the full appraisal fee in addition to a separate AMC/lender fee.